IDA sets public hearing for Peconic Crossings tax breaks

A rendering of Blue River Estates on display at an IDA meeting in Riverhead Town Hall in 2013. (File photo)

The Riverhead Industrial Development Agency has set a public hearing to discuss approving tax breaks for “Peconic Crossings,” an apartment complex proposed for the Long Island Science Center’s building located in downtown Riverhead.

The latest proposal was created under a joint partnership between Community Development Corporation of Long Island (CDCLI), a nonprofit group; and Conifer Realty, a Rochester-based real estate development and management company.

The IDA voted Monday night to schedule the Peconic Crossings hearing for Dec. 1 at 5 p.m. in Town Hall.

CDCLI and Conifer Realty have taken over the $17.5 million project from Simshabs X, a Brooklyn development company that had originally proposed to build market-rate apartments at the science center’s building on West Main Street.

While the proposal’s design is the same, the change in developer means the project will need a new public hearing in its quest for IDA incentives, such as partial property tax exemptions, and exemptions from county mortgage recording taxes and sales tax on materials used in the construction of the project.

Simshabs X had applied for similar tax incentives from the IDA, but was never granted them. On Monday, the IDA formally voted to discontinue its application with Simshas X.

Long Island Science Center board member Larry Oxman said the science center has also terminated its agreement with Simshabs X. The science center is in contract to buy the former West Marine property after its West Main Street building is sold.

Under the Peconic Crossings plan, rents are projected to range from $960 to $1,060 per month for one-bedroom apartments, and from $1,150 to $1,250 per month for two-bedroom units, said Marianne Garvin, CDCLI’s president and chief executive officer. Rent includes heat and hot water, she said. Tenants are responsible pay for electricity, Ms. Garvin added.

Applicants must meet income guidelines, with the maximum incomes for a single person being $44,000, and a maximum two-person income set at $50,000, Mr. Handelman said.

CDCLI and Conifer will need to have a contract in place before the Dec. 1 public hearing, according to IDA attorney Richard Ehlers. Allen Handelman, Conifer’s vice president of development, said he believes the contract will be filed on time.